I'd guess you never had a oil leak. You had a coolant leak via the lower intake manifold and as it made its way slowly down the engine it mixed with dirt and oil that was sticking to the engine and made it look like oil was leaking, where it really was coolant.

For the LIM gasket replacement, the risk is that he will charge you for additional items as he goes along, and you will be stuck. I don't know your money situation, but I would ask him to replace all the hoses (upper and lower radiator and heater hoses), thermostat and water pump at the price he quoted you. And check to see what brand gasket he is using, if not OEM it should only be Fel-Pro or Victor.

 

So basically you are saying I am getting ripped off? You dont think I was leaking oil at all then? Why would my oil gauge read 40 instead of 45 to 47 like it always did before? Just curious why the change in my oil gauge, got to be some cause to that. So, for the price I was quoted at, I should have got a new water pump and hoses and thermostat, correct? I have seen the steps involved with replacing the intake manifold gasket, its a lot of stuff you have to disconnect and unbolt and so forth. Its not like I could do it myself or let alone went to college and majored in Mechanical engineering or something. You would have to be a professional to do this sort of stuff. No, I have never had an oil leak before, this is my first owned car. Pretty reliable car wouldnt you say, to see its first oil leak after 11 years of owning it. Pretty good to me. Better than a blown head gasket or stuck stranded on the highway. Thanks.

 

ive got same issues on my 99 blazer.well i know its leaking from the oil line cooler hose. but i also just replaced valve cover gasket on passenger side,that was leaking.took it to a buddy of mine and charged me 40.00 bucks.wasnt gonna tackle it myself its a bit tricky.but i also know that its leaking from timing chain cover.tried tighting screws but its a tight fit,couldnt.ialso had oil pan gasket put on bout a yr.ago.my mechanic said he even had trouble taking out the pan bcause of cross memeber it has.so gotta check that leak n front.

 

No I am not implying you got ripped off and I missed the oil gauge change in pressure.

What shops may do when replacing the LIM gasket is call you and say" this is worn,when I pulled this off it broke, etc". What ends up happening is the consumer is exposed to paying not only for the part, but the book labor charge in replacing the part, that the shop already had to disconnect, move, etc to do the original job.

With that said, I think it is a good investment to have the shop replace the hoses, the water pump and the thermostat as part of a LIM gasket replacement. Less than $100 in wholesale OEM part costs, and less than an hour labor when done while the LIM gasket job is taking place.And you, as the consumer can feel good knowing all those high failure items were replaced, essentially you should be good for another 100k miles for the cooling system (less the radiator).

 

I understand completely what you are saying about all that. My mechanic did check the belt, hoses and everything looked just fine and did not need replacing. As for the water pump, I will get a replacement when this one breaks or fails. Then, would def get new hoses and a belt done at the sametime. If it aint broke, then dont fix it. But, if I dont get it fixed could do some damage to who knows what. I will wait and see if car makes it through summer, then will get it replaced in sept or Oct for sure. Thanks for all the help as my blazer is running smooth again. No leaks or drips of any kind so far. Cannot wait for spring to be here. Thanks again!!